A pair of cholesterol-lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors were controversial as soon as they hit the market in 2015. They cost an average $14,300 a year, and prescriptions require prior authorization by health insurance companies — which a new study shows isn’t a guarantee.

A second in a new class of drugs that sharply lowers cholesterol is set for federal approval by Thursday – a “game-changer” for the hardest-to-treat patients who are in danger of heart attacks and strokes.

For people with familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH, a genetic condition that […]